Faf and Axar threaten Kolkata’s total, but a stunning spin choke at the death seals crucial win for defending champions at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
New Delhi, April 30:
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bounced back in style with a 14-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in a thrilling IPL 2025 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. Sunil Narine (3/29) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/39) spun a web around Delhi’s batters, triggering a dramatic collapse after DC were cruising at 136/3 in 14 overs while chasing 205.
DC, powered by a classy 62 off 45 balls from Faf Du Plessis and a blazing 43 off 23 by skipper Axar Patel, looked well on course to chase the target. But once the duo fell in quick succession, KKR’s spin duo seized control of the match.
Vipraj Nigam’s late fireworks (38 off 19 balls) threatened to revive Delhi’s hopes, but Andre Russell cleaned him up in the final over to seal the win. DC eventually ended at 190/9.
With this result, KKR move to seventh in the standings with four wins from nine games, while DC remain fourth with 12 points from ten matches.
How the Chase Unfolded
DC’s innings got off to a rocky start, losing Abhishek Porel in the opening over. Faf Du Plessis and Karun Nair steadied the innings briefly, but quick wickets from Vaibhav Arora and a run-out of KL Rahul left DC at 60/3 in the seventh over.
Faf and Axar launched a counterattack, putting on a 76-run stand and bringing DC back into the contest. Faf reached his fifty in 31 balls, and Axar punished Harshit Rana and Russell with boundaries.
However, once Axar fell to a brilliant catch by Harshit and Faf was removed by Narine, DC crumbled under pressure. Tristan Stubbs, Mitchell Starc, and Ashutosh Sharma all fell cheaply, with Narine and Varun tightening the screws.
Vipraj Nigam briefly reignited hope with boundaries off Russell and Harshit, but Russell returned to knock him over in the final over, ending DC’s chase at 190/9.
KKR’s First Innings Recap
Earlier, KKR posted a formidable 204/9 thanks to fluent innings from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44 off 32) and Rinku Singh (36 off 25), with quick starts by Sunil Narine (27 off 16) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (17 off 7).
Despite a mini-collapse in the final over, where KKR lost three wickets, they crossed the 200-mark with a six from Andre Russell. DC’s Mitchell Starc (3/43) was the pick of the bowlers, while debutant Vipraj Nigam (2/41) and Axar Patel (2/27) chipped in with key wickets.
Brief Score:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 204/9 (Raghuvanshi 44, Rinku 36; Starc 3/43)
Delhi Capitals: 190/9 (Du Plessis 62, Axar 43; Narine 3/29, Varun 2/39)
Result: KKR won by 14 runs.